Mistyparrot

Hi Ruby. You should tell us the circumstances that precede the biting episode. But I think that your vet gave the right general advice. Make as little fuss as possible and place your parrot away from you in it's cage for time out for a short period. Don't shout or show anger in a way that might upset or frighten the bird. You need to be able to read the parrots body language and avoid situations that bring on a biting episode if at all possible. This does take a little experience but one of the classic signs is pinning of the pupils. Steve n Mistyparrot

Just back from Crimble dinner with my Mum. Every one else has gone every where else so its just us two. It was lovely. She is 90 now so I must have had at least 50 of these. I treasure every one and every one is different. I share a bottle of wine with her but I had the most! Then I totter back home, just a short walk. I open my door and Misty whistles out his call tune and I whistle back. I walk up und open the living room door and Misty looks up from his cage door and says "Hi babe!" I open his door he climbs onto my shoulder and gently nibbles my ear then offers a kiss. Thats when yet again I forgive him for all the furniture he has gnawed, all the computer leads he has cut and all the books he has shredded. Happy Festival of Love and Renewal and New Beginnings to all. Steve n Mistyparrot

I think you are wise to allow your fid his flights. I have never regretted having Misty fully flighted and he is a very confident parrot because of it. Just a point though, it can be possible to repair clipped feathers sometimes. It is called "imping" It is not easy and takes a lot of skill but it can be done. Parrots Magazine recently had some articles on that subject. Steve

Can you expand on that?

I am wondering if I should trade in my talking African Grey for a talking elephant? You have to admit it would be quite impressive! http://landing.newsinc.com/shared/video.html?freewheel=69016&sitesection=ndnsubss&VID=102781 I suppose I would need a large bath tub for the morning glories Steve and a disapproving Mistyparrot

I have been following a bathing discussion on the Avian cognition forum at yahoo groups and I have posted my comment here for the benefit of this forum. Misty is not keen on entering the shower. I have tried but no ..he is definitely not keen! I have a plant mister that I use but even that is not always successful. He has a love hate relationship with the spray bottle. It has its uses though because if he sees me so much as touch it he will normally fly direct to my shoulder because he realises that I am less likely to squirt him there ! I have mentioned this before. However if he is in the mood for a good wetting he will hold his ground and flap like mad as I spray him. He says shower when I use it on him. He also says it when he comes to the bathroom and I turn on a tap (Faucet in American) or operate the shower. Sometimes when he wants a good splash he would try unsuccessfully to bathe in the water bowl on the end of his tee bar. Try as he might he just could not fit in! But I found a solution to the Grey sized bath problem. I bought a large plant pot dish and filled it with water. As soon as he saw hit he said "Showa" and jumped in. It still only gets his underside wet but that is the part I could never get with the mister. Steve n Misty

I just discovered another one. When your USB leads are to long your Grey will sort it for you ! :mad: Steve n Misty

In no particular order: A Greys beak is good for scratching nose itches. If you are a fan of "Shabby Chic " they are a great help in redecorating. They are brilliant at reminding you it is time to get a new keyboard. If you share your food with your Grey, and you should, they will help you to a healthier diet. They encourage you to keep breakables in safe places. They make great document shredders. Steve n Misty

Hmmm. I think I detect a hint of rebellion in Daves post. If he is not careful the Grand Grey will have him sent to the reprogramming centre for reorientation. You better hide Dave. Your card has been chewed ! Steve n Misty

I think it is a mistake to discourage the bowl rattling by thinking in terms of discipline instead increase Roses foraging opportunities. There are special toys available that you can stuff with suitable treats like peanuts and other nuts and dried fruit. I think it important to avoid frustrating these birds attempts to have some control of their environment. The only time I would raise my voice to Misty is when he is putting himself at risk. Other times I prefer to remove him from things or places I don't want him messing with and providing him with suitable distractions. Misty spends most of his time out of his cage if am at home. He only goes back in to sleep or for time out if he bites in temper (very very rare) and only for a few minutes. Steve n Mistyparrot

Thanks for reminding me Dave. I watched the movie a while ago. I am gonna find it again ! Steve n Misty

He may be flying to the stove to get a reaction out of you. Misty does that with me although fortunately it's not the stove he flies to but the top of the door or to the dado rail. He is not allowed on either place, the door top because not only did he start to chew on the wood but also the obvious risk that a door might close on him. On the dado rail he would try to rip the wallpaper. Like you I tried calling him off but the only effect that had was when ever he flew there he would look at me challengingly and say "Off off!" In the end I discovered that for some reason he disliked a dried sun flower head I had brought him. I thought he might like to chew the seeds off it, but in fact he won't go near it. So I hung it up on the door top. It looked a bit odd but he won't fly there now.If you have a thing that he does not like you could try putting that on the stove. You can never tell which things a Grey will take against. You will have to experiment a bit. Find something you can put on the stove whether or not it is hot. Another thing I use with Misty is his plastic water mister. If I adjust it to a jet I can squirt him from a distance. He dislikes this but he has worked out that if he flies on to my shoulderI cannot easily get to him ! He does not resent me for this in fact he treats it as a game. Most times he only has to see me pick it up. Some times if he sees the spray bottle unguarded he will attempt to dismantle it with prejudice. I hang old ones up on his play tree and he has great fun with them. This works for Misty and me but your bird may react differently. If it upsets him don't do it. Steve n Misty

Thanks for this Dan. Parrots and punishment simply do not belong together. We all need to understand that these birds are essentially wild animals that WE have chosen to bring into our homes. It is up to us to understand their needs and respond as best we can. If they do things we find unacceptable like chewing treasured possessions or valuable furniture we have to understand that parrots will never put a value on things the way we do. It is up to us not to put temptation in their way. Parrots will make a mess. In the jungle when you live in trees nobody gives a damn what you drop on the floor or splatter around. To them our homes are simply an extension of that jungle. Parrots want to get along with their flock mates. They enjoy each others company and they will not bite each other if they respect each others space. If your parrot bites you it is almost certainly your fault not the parrots. He has to get to know you as a flock member. They are generous hearted creatures and they will make allowances for your stupidity and inability to fly for as long as you never give them reason to mistrust you. Parrots need to communicate with their flock members and partners. Learn their contact calls, respond to them and they will try to make sense of the weird noises you make in return. If they do something antisocial like biting without due cause, do what they would do in similar circumstances and withdraw your company for a short while. This may include a very short period of cage time. No more than a couple of minutes. If you cannot give your feathered friend loads of out of cage time or a large flight area then you should consider whether you are best placed to keep a parrot. Don't clip your parrots wings. Almost all Parrots are flying birds. It is what they are evolved to do. If they are clipped they may become troubled and unhappy birds. That said not all clipped parrots are unable to overcome the trauma of losing the ability to fly but pre-fledged parrots must never be clipped. All should be allowed to learn flight skills as it will significantly help their mental and physical development. Remember: if you feel the need to punish your parrot it is because you have screwed up not the bird. Steve n Misty

What happened to all my karma from the previous forum format? Misty and I feel deprived ) -: Steve n Misty

I absolutely love the feeling of Misty's warm feet. Like the old saying "Warm feet warm heart" Steve n Misty

I think in general our views are not that different.I think you could include me in your group. Except that there is a very real value to the kind of work that Df Pepperberg is doing. It is not that long ago that the scientific community tended to believe that all non human creatures were unthinking automatons. Dr Pepperberg has had to struggle hard to demonstrate the falsity of that thinking and I applaud her for that. The main point of Dr Pepperbergs work is not to teach her birds senseless tricks but to understand the depth and process of avian thought by use of a common spoken "language".

Yes she did say that but from my reading of the book "Alex and Me" it did not take her long to discover that that intention was futile. There is no doubt that Alex's death hit her hard.

Well yes of course it was a big experiment. That is how Alex came to be named Alex I think it was Avian Language (Learning?) Experiment. In the particular circumstances of the video in question Dr Pepperberg and Alex had to impress some big wigs to help get funding. The very fact that Alex used those words to express his desire must mean he had an expectation that his wish would be respected. This would be because under normal circumstances it would have been. Dr Pepperberg did not routinely ignore Alex's requests or desires. How do you think he learned to say that in the first place? The kind of work that Dr Pepperberg is doing with Grey parrots is invaluable in promoting our understanding of these amazing beings and therefore helps to promote their better welfare as well as helping to develop cross species communication.

You seem to be making the classic error that a snapshot is representative of typical behaviour. Dr Pepperberg had a very strong emotional bond with Alex and there is no way she would have caused him undue stress. Surely you must know that you cannot successfully teach a stressed Grey anything. there is no doubt that Irene loved Alex and took great care to ensure his welfare in all respects. She also regarded him as a valued colleague.

Yes you are going to die. It happens to everyone eventually with or without the help of parrot poo. I cannot tell you when you are going but at least you know you gave us all a good laugh before you went. I of course am immortal. Lucky me. Steve n Mistyparrot

You have a very polite parrot there! When ever I tell Misty off he just calls me "Horrible boy!" :laugh: Steve n Misty

This is such a good Grey community I feel deprived and twitchy when it's down. PG all the problems will be resolved soon. Much kudos to those hard working and dedicated site administrators and moderators for all their efforts it battling the web demons on our behalf. Many thanks from Steve n Misty

The truth is girls talk more and boys talk more sense. Oddly enough its the same wiih humans :laugh: Runs away and hides!:lol: Steve n Misty

It's great news but make sure he can make soft landings to protect those precious new flights!B) Steve n Misty

I want to see what hatches when the cat lays eggs:laugh: Steve n Misty